GARLIC IN POTS

[plotstoeat]

I normally plant my garlic in October but didn't get around to it last year, so I'm playing catch up. Living in the North of England makes it harder so I am thinking of giving it a head start by planting in pots in the greenhouse. I understand garlic needs frost to kick start into growing so should I put the pots outside first? Any tips on growing medium? All advice welcome!

[plotstoeat]

[Hi_Hoe]

Put mine into individual pots in't tunnel first week o feb, and theyre coming on a treat. Should be crackin' little plants when they go outside! BBC Radio 2's Terry Walton tip- not mine.!!

[plotstoeat]

Put mine into individual pots in't tunnel first week o feb, and theyre coming on a treat. Should be crackin' little plants when they go outside! BBC Radio 2's Terry Walton tip- not mine.!!

Thanks Hi Hoe. Ihave put mine in a cloche today. Used a mix of compost, manure and sharp sand. Do you water them at all?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Put them out now, and don't delay. You can put them straight in the ground, no need to worry about pots unless you don't have the ground ready for them yet.

[plotstoeat]

Just to follow up on this: my garlic was fine; big enough. But this Spring was late so I'm planting next years now!

[gavinjconway]

Now is the time to plant it.. Go for it.... I had the best crop ever this year.. Planted into 3" pots on 28 Sept and planted out in the plot on 30 december.. So 3  months in the 3" pots in the greenhouse as its the only space I have and they did really well.. (I often do this with great results)

I've been self sufficient for many years with garlic... here's my crop this year .. about 60 normal (4 different types) and a few elephant to roast... also use all my own seed.

[plotstoeat]

What an excellent crop Gavin. What compost do you use? I was going to recycle this year's grow bag compost. Are they all soft neck types? I can see one of them is, the Solent Wight; what's it like for flavour?   Ken

[plotstoeat]

Just read an interesting section on garlic in Caroline Foley's Allotment Handbook. She says that, by saving some of your own bulbs and planting the cloves, they will eventually adapt to your soil conditions as a new strain.

[Deb P]

I had done exactly that for several years with Marco garlic until last years miserable weather which left me with a small scrawny crop which despite replanting the best cloves did poorly this year as well..

[Pescador]

Anyone grown them right through to harvest in pots?
My plot is now riddled with white rot and this years crop was a complete write-off.
I thought pots at home might be the answer, but what sized pot?

[gavinjconway]

 

What an excellent crop Gavin. What compost do you use? I was going to recycle this year's grow bag compost. Are they all soft neck types? I can see one of them is, the Solent Wight; what's it like for flavour?   Ken

Hi Plots - I use whatever I have lying around and mix it with a bit of old compost from the dalek bin and also some soil from the garden and some BFB mixed in. Just sieve it to remove big bits and pot int it.

I have 4 types... Solent Whight, French Thermidor and two others given to me with good big cloves. I've also just ordered some music bulbs so this year I'm doing 5 types.. 125 plants.... yes we love garlic!!

[squeezyjohn]

Just read an interesting section on garlic in Caroline Foley's Allotment Handbook. She says that, by saving some of your own bulbs and planting the cloves, they will eventually adapt to your soil conditions as a new strain.

Unless I am missing some other process at work - that can't be true!

If you save the seed from the plants that grow the best in your plot then eventually you will develop a strain suited to your soil conditions ... but re-planting garlic cloves is not the same as growing seeds.

The cloves of the bulb you grew are simply a way of creating a clone - not an offspring - which means that it will be identical genetically to the parent plant - and therefore no better and no worse.  This is also true for cuttings, strawberry runners, potatoes grown from tubers etc. too.  If anything - plants propagated in this way for many years deteriorate in quality as they will build up viruses in their tissue over time.

However - I have successfully kept my own garlic for 4 years but next year - and it is a great way of keeping costs down, but I am buying in bulbs this year as I'm worried that this years crop seemed to be getting smaller than I'd had before.

[plotstoeat]

Anyone grown them right through to harvest in pots?
My plot is now riddled with white rot and this years crop was a complete write-off.
I thought pots at home might be the answer, but what sized pot?

I have planted some in a 6 inch trough in the GH in the hope of getting an early harvest next year. I have white rot at the lotty too. Terrible stuff.

[plotstoeat]

Squeezy John: you sound like you know your stuff. I have bought some nice fat cloves this year (only 60p each) so I'll try saving my own next year. Didn't grow enough this year to reuse.

[Jeannine]

SqueezyJohn, I am with Foley on this one. I have grown my own garlic for many years, it has crossed the Atlantic 3 times now and it still growing strong, it has been moved a few times but has grown in some places for many years.

If you look at Boundary Garlic who is pretty much an authority over here  I am certain it will also side with Foley.

I have shared it with many folks over the years, and I know of 4 still growing it from years back.

I use the biggest cloves each year and only separate them moments before I plant them.

XX Jeannine

PS, just remembered there are some folks on our lottie site that grow a garlic(not mine) and share it around, pretty much everyone grows it now and it has been growing for several years too

[plotstoeat]

I planted some garlic in 3" pots only a week ago and they are already pushing roots thru the bottom of the pots and have shoots about 2". I am wondering if I should repot them. They are in an open cold frame on top of soil. I have used 3" pots in the past.

[plotstoeat]

getting ready to transplant my garlic from pots to plot. Any tips on soil preparation would be appreciated

[gavinjconway]

getting ready to transplant my garlic from pots to plot. Any tips on soil preparation would be appreciated

All I do is dig in manure and a dew handfuls of general fertilizer before planting.

[woodypecks]

 Oh ! No !  I just found a bag of garlic bulbs lying in the shed ! ...I will get them in the ground tomorrow . Oh I am so cross with myself !

[squeezyjohn]

The recent replies have drawn my attention to the reply to my post from Jeannine.

I must say that I wasn't saying anything against saving your own best garlic cloves from last year to plant out ... it will work fine and give nice consistent results for many years and if your stock don't get a build up of viruses in the tissue then it could potentially be carried on for ever.

But I cannot agree with the quote given from Foley "by saving some of your own bulbs and planting the cloves, they will eventually adapt to your soil conditions as a new strain" ... that statement is just plain wrong, there is no mechanism by which a new strain could ever be created by propagating cloves of garlic, sorry.  And I'm not just making this up as I go along, my masters degree was in genetics.  If you wished to create a new strain of garlic - you would have to save seeds and plant those instead of cloves.

However - I'm all for saving my own garlic bulbs to divide and grow.